


珈琲 [Coffee]

by mightypocketcow



Series: Smosh Writing Week 2019 [1]
Category: Smosh
Genre: Barista AU, F/M, Implied abuse, Mentions of Emotional Abuse, SmoshWritingWeek2019, Soulmate AU, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Swearing, i really love and respect maris real relationship i swear, i swear i dont think peter is a douchebag!, im sorry peter, joven threatens someone, smoshwritingweek2019 day 1, this ending is courtesy of deem
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-23
Updated: 2019-07-23
Packaged: 2020-07-11 16:45:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19931254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mightypocketcow/pseuds/mightypocketcow
Summary: Soulmate Tattoos don't appear at a set time.  In fact, sometimes they don't appear at all.  It would make sense for people without Tattoos to date each other, but what happens when you and your partner both get a late-blooming Tattoo... and they don't match?Day 1 Submission for Smosh Writing Week 2019





	珈琲 [Coffee]

Funny thing about those Soulmate Tattoos...

Not everyone gets one.

Mari just assumed that she was one of those unfortunate people. She assumed that she'd never get her Tattoo, and she had learned to accept that by the time she was a teenager. A lot of her friends got theirs as children, and a lot more got theirs by their junior year of high school... so it would make sense for her to just accept her fate and get with someone else who doesn't have a Tattoo, right?

Well, where did that get her? Alone, that's where.

That's what she didn't understand about it. Why would the universe hate her so damned much? Whatever higher power is up there must be laughing their ass off at her predicament. She thought she knew who she was, she thought she knew who he was... and now she felt like she didn't know anything anymore.

She sighed, holding back the tears that threatened to fall as she continued to slowly make her way down the sidewalk. The only thing that could possibly make her day worse was--

_*rumble*_

Great. A thunderstorm. Just what she needed while she's basically become homeless overnight and stuck wearing pyjama shorts and an old t-shirt outside in October.

She looked up as raindrops started to fall, and saw that she was only about a block away from her favourite local cafe. She paused for a moment; she didn't remember walking in this direction, but her brain must have been on autopilot and took her to the one place she knew nobody would yell at her or call her out on what she'd done.

But that's just it, she thought grimly as she relented and jogged towards the door, dodging people sending up their umbrellas, trying to avoid getting wet as much as possible; _she_ didn't do _anything_. None of this was her fault. This wasn't anything that was within her control, no matter how much Peter blamed her for what had happened.

She swung the door open and stepped inside quickly, shivering slightly at the warm air that greeted her. She stared at her feet for a moment; she'd only had the chance to grab flip-flops in her rush out the door, and now her feet were cold and soaking wet.

"Hey there, Miss Takahashi. What's with the PJ's?"

Speaking of warm things greeting her...

She looked up at the sound of the friendly teasing voice, and she found her favourite pair of brown eyes to look into - not that she'd ever admit that out loud. Especially not to him.

"Hi Joven..." She managed to crack a smile after seeing the handsome head barista's teasing grin from beside the coffeemaker. She looked around for a moment, and, realizing that the cafe was basically empty and that he was the only one working (she briefly wondered where the supervisor Alexia was, but she didn't dwell on it), approached and leaned on the counter casually, trying to hold everything in. It really wasn't up to him to make her feel better, and it shouldn't be burdened on him anyways; he's just a friend. A really good, really attractive friend. "Just left the house in a hurry, that's all." She gave him another small smile that she hoped was convincing.

"Is something wrong?" Joven's eyebrows furrowed.

The look of concern he gave her was enough for her to burst into tears. She slunk over the counter and put her head on her elbows, her entire body shaking.

His eyes widened and he nearly dropped the coffee pot he was holding. Instead of risking injury and a lecture from the owner, he placed it down carefully before rushing around the counter to stand beside her. He put his hand on her shoulder and she instantly turned, clinging to him and continuing to sob. 

Joven held her as she cried heavily into his shoulder for a few moments before he let his curiosity and protective instincts take over. "What happened, sweetheart?" He asked softly, running a hand up and down her back to soothe her. "What's going on that has my girl so upset?"

Mari ignored the fluttering of her stomach as he called her his girl, instead gasping for air for a moment before looking at him and stuttering a reply between shaky breaths. "It's Peter..." was all she managed before she choked out a sob again, looking down at her own feet again.

Joven's own stomach dropped and his heart filled with rage as he ran a hand through her hair, bringing it down to her cheek to look her in the eyes again. "What happened?" He repeated. If that cocky bastard had done something to hurt her, Joven was going to have to seek a lawyer for the inevitable medical lawsuit of Peter having Joven's shoe removed from his--

"He got his Tattoo."

He froze. "And...?

"And so did I."

His heart, now cursing at him for the workout happening inside his soul, both fluttered to the sky and dropped what felt like a million miles into the core of the earth. He'd actually just gotten his own Tattoo that morning. What may have been a crazy coincidence might be the higher powers having a go at his expense, it seems. "Isn't that a good thing? Now you know you're meant to be, right?" He tried his best to hold out on expressing his disappointment, and he hoped Mari wouldn't notice the break in his voice. (Luckily for him, she didn't.)

"They don't _match_ , Joven. We're not soulmates. He left me."

His entire body went cold and he had only one thought running through his head, but he didn't let it reach his mouth. Instead, all he said was, "Oh, honey..." and hugged her tight again as her resolve broke completely and she wept onto his shoulder. 

It took several minutes for her to calm down enough to let go of him, and by that point she had gone silent, momentarily gasping for air and having run out of tears and breath with which to cry. He lead her to a nearby table, and sat her down. He looked over at the old Japanese lady named Kumiko sitting a few tables away -- the only other customer in the store and a daily regular who had become fond of both Joven and Mari -- who simply pursed her lips at him sadly, looking pointedly at the girl in front of him, and with wave of her hand, indicated for him to continue comforting his friend. He nodded at Kumiko, giving her a thankful smile, and sat down.

"Mari..." He hardly ever used her first name, instead usually using little pet names, or her last name to tease her. He reached for her hand that was resting on the table, and held it. "What happened? What did he say?"

"Well... last night when I came home from work he said that he needed to see my arm. He was really aggressive about it and he just shoved my sleeve up without asking me. I didn't know what he was mad about but I didn't want to push it. Then he told me, after thoroughly inspecting both of my arms... He'd gotten his Tattoo halfway through the work day, and so had that coworker of his, Wendy. He said they'd matched..." Mari took another shaky breath. "He told me that if I didn't get mine by morning then he was leaving me for her, and that Wendy was going to leave her girlfriend too."

Joven didn't say anything, choosing instead to quietly seethe in his own brain, vowing to at least punch Peter in the face when he saw him next.

"Then this morning around 6 I woke up to a burning feeling on my back... I ran to the bathroom and I had gotten mine too. I went back to the bedroom to show him, but when I showed him he--" She swallowed, her voice lowering to a whisper. Joven ran his fingers over the back of her hand silently as she continued. "He kinda just flipped. He started yelling, throwing things all over the place. He called me a whore and said that I didn't deserve to have a soulmate. He was stomping all over the apartment and tossing shit everywhere, and he was really scaring me, so around an hour ago when he wasn't looking I slipped out." 

Joven glanced at the clock on the wall. It was 9am. "You let him scream at you like that for two hours?"

"I didn't really have a choice, Joven. I was scared he was going to hit me if I didn't let him let out his anger everywhere else."

Joven wanted nothing more than to express his complete and utter disgust at literally every part of that sentence, but he was interrupted by the bell above the door ringing and someone stepping in. 

They both looked up at the newcomer and Mari froze, clutching Joven's hand for dear life. 

"Mari." Peter said darkly. "What do you think you're doing here?"

Mari started shaking, struggling to form the words coming to her brain, but Joven stood up, facing Peter. "You're Peter, right?"

"Who the hell are you? What are you doing with my girlfriend?" Before he could answer, Peter continued. "Oh, I know. You're that stupid barista she never shut up about. I might've known. I always knew you two had a thing going on behind my back." He glared at Mari, and hissed between clenched teeth, "I don't even care that Wendy didn't want me, because I wouldn't want to stay with you anyways. I always knew you were a whore."

Joven took one step forward and drew his fist back, and swung it forward, making heavy, fast contact directly with Peter's nose, knocking him over. He knelt over the fallen man and grabbed him by the collar, drawing him up to look him in the eye. 

Peter's eyes were wide in shock as Joven started yelling in his face. "Don't you _dare_ talk to her like that. Don't you even fucking look at her. I don't know who the hell you think you are, but you don't deserve to even say her name. If nobody ever taught you how to treat a woman, then let me make it clear for you -- women deserve to be treated like they're the most wonderful being on the planet. And Mari? She _is_ the most wonderful being on the planet, and if you can't see that then you must be as blind as you are stupid. Don't think for a single fucking moment that I won't beat the shit out of you if you ever go near her again." Joven let go, letting Peter's head fall back to the floor with a thunk, and stood up, still glaring at him. "Now get the fuck out of my cafe."

Peter scrambled to his feet in fear, but upon realizing that he was in fact taller and bigger than Joven, took one last bold move and spat out the blood from his mouth at Mari's feet.

Before Joven could react, a little pink handbag came out of nowhere and hit Peter in the side of the head. 

Peter yelled in surprise, turning to look down at the perpetrator.

Kumiko was standing in front of Peter, fuming and yelling angrily in Japanese. She only came up to about his elbows in height, but he cowered in fear anyways. She continued to hit him with her handbag, and as he moved to get out of her range she chased him out of the store, hitting him and yelling at him all the way out.

Joven and Mari both stared in shock, before looking at each other and bursting into nervous laughter. 

"What the hell just happened?"

"I think your asshole ex just got his ass beat by 90-year-old Kumiko."

She let out a breathy laugh that quickly turned into a sob. "Fuck... what the hell am I going to do?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't have anywhere to go. I don't have any clothes, I don't have any food, I don't have my cat--"

"Mari." He says softly, taking her hand again. She looks at him. "Just come stay with me for a bit."

"A-Are you sure? I don't want to impose or be a burden on your household or something."

"Absolutely I'm sure. It's just me and my cat anyways, and she doesn't mind having guests." He paused for a moment before he continued. "Alexia has a spare change of clothes in the back that will probably fit you, and you're still soaking wet anyways, so do you want to get changed?"

"I, uh... yeah, that would be nice. Thank you, Joven." She finally stood up, but her legs were so shaky that she stumbled forward.

He stooped to catch her. "Whoa, sweetheart, take it easy. Have you eaten this morning?"

"No..." She said sheepishly as he helped her to her feet.

"You need to eat, you're probably starving right now. I'll bring you to the back and then I'll make you a muffin while you're getting dressed, okay?"

"Okay." She mumbled, flushing. She hated accepting help from people, and she hated how vulnerable she felt at that moment... but if Joven was the one taking care of her, then it wasn't so bad.

"Do you want a coffee too? I can't imagine how tired you feel right now."

"A coffee would be great, actually. Maybe I'll have that before I get changed, if you don't mind."

"Not at all. Coming right up, my lady." He winked at her, and she giggled despite herself.

He walked off to behind the counter, and as he started preparing the coffee Kumiko came back in, soaked in rainwater and still fuming, muttering to herself.

Joven saw a brief exchange between Mari and Kumiko, in which Mari stood and bowed to the older woman and the older woman brought her in for a hug, but he couldn't hear what was said. Whatever it was, Mari had a wonderfully red face as Kumiko patted her cheek before coming up to the counter. 

"Kumiko, thank you so much for defending Mari." Joven smiled at her, looking over from the coffeemaker. "I really appreciate it. I hope you didn't exert yourself."

"You don't worry about old Kumiko, my dear boy." She waved him off. "You just worry about taking care of that wonderful girl. Maybe take her out and show her how good men can be to her; she deserves a good man like you."

In his surprise, Joven nearly spills the coffee on himself. "Uh... I mean... I wouldn't... I mean, I would... But I..."

Kumiko chuckled. "I see how you look at little Mari. You do like her, no? You must show her that. She needs someone good and smart and honourable. Like you."

"I don't think I'm the right man for the job here, Kumiko. I mean, she needs someone responsible and reliable, and I don't even have a decent career. I'm not smart and I'm not honourable... She doesn't need me. Besides, she got her Tattoo this morning, which means she has a soulmate out there somewhere."

"But you got yours too, Joshua."

This time, Joven really did spill the coffee on himself. All over his apron and button-up shirt... Good thing he also has a change of clothes in the back. "Shit!" He cried out in pain; the coffee was boiling hot and it was very likely that he'd just burned himself. Definitely not third-degree, but it still hurt like hell. 

Mari jumps up and runs over to him, almost entirely on instinct; the students she taught at the Ballet studio had a bad habit of twisting ankles and spraining wrists, so she was always caught up in her First Aid training. "What happened, Joven?"

"I just... spilled on myself..." He flushed in embarrassment and pain. He looked up to reply to Kumiko. "See what I m--" But she was gone. "Where did Kumiko go...?"

"Nevermind that, Joven. You need to get these off you, you're going to make it worse by leaving the liquid in contact with your skin." She began untying his apron at the back, and stood on her toes to pull it over his head.

"It's not that bad, Mari, really..." But he couldn't stop himself from hissing in pain as she started unbuttoning his shirt. 

"Bullshit." She stated simply. "Now cooperate."

He let her unbutton the white dress shirt, and helped her slide it down his arms. "There's aloe vera gel in the back for burns, but I need to clean up the floor first..."

"You're such a freak, Joven." She teased. "You may have seriously burned yourself and you're worried about the floor? Give me a break, just..." She trailed off as he turned to assess how much he had spilled. 

"Okay, I didn't spill that much, it won't be that difficult to re-make the pot. I'm sorry, sweetheart, your coffee will be late..." He turned back to look at her, and her face was pale and her mouth was hanging open in an "O" shape. "What? What's wrong?"

"Your Tattoo..." She started, her voice barely above a whisper. "On your back."

He blinked. "Oh, right. I just got it this morning. It's a weird thing, isn't it? It's some kind of Kanji but I have no idea what it says, I was actually going to ask you or Kumiko to translate it, but I completely forgot. With my luck, it probably means 'potato' or 'squirrel' or something really random like that." His voice kept getting faster and higher. "Or maybe it means 'you're going to die alone', which I think would also be appropriate. Imagine if that's what it meant. If that's what it means, please don't tell me, that's really depressing. Maybe it really means 'chocolate' or 'roses' or something vaguely romantic like that. Or 'walrus'. Imagine if it meant 'walrus'. I would feel sorry for my poor soulmate who has 'walrus' Tattooed on them for life--"

"Joven." She puts her hand on his bare chest above his reddening burn, silencing him, stepping closer to him and looking him in the eye. 

His face goes a deeper shade of pink than he could possibly imagine, and he's completely forgotten about the pain on his abdomen. "Y-Yes?"

"It... it means 'coffee'."

"Oh. Well I guess that makes sense, because I work at a cafe, and I really like coffee. But I still feel sorry for whoever else has to walk around with 'coffee' Tattooed on them."

She steps back from him, and turns her back, lifting her shirt to expose the small of her back as she looks at him over her shoulder with an amused expression. "You feel bad for me, Joven?"

"Wh--" He looks at her exposed skin and realizes the same Kanji is Tattooed in the same place on her own body. "Oh..."

She lets go of her shirt, letting it fall back into place as she turns back to him and steps back into her previously vacated spot just in front of his chest. "Coffee is a good Tattoo... I like it. When I first saw it, I'd hoped it meant you."

"You did?"

"I did." She smiled at him, then stood on her toes to kiss him on the cheek. "Now let's get this cleaned up, my _utsukushī kōhī otoko_."

"Wh-what does that mean?"

"Beautiful coffee man." Mari winked at him as she turned to head to the back of the store.

Before she could even take a step, he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back to him, dipping his head down to make their lips meet.

Suddenly, everything in the entire world vanished; it was just the two of them, and nothing else mattered. The world could have completely fallen apart while they were standing there and neither one of them would have noticed. Everything seemed trivial and unimportant, and manageable and small. Whatever could be thrown at them from whatever higher power was laughing at them earlier could be conquered as long as they were together. 

Her fingers curled into his chest hair and his left hand clutched the hem of her shirt as his right tangled itself in her hair. There was no possible way for their bodies to get any closer than they already were without--

" _ **SHIT**_!" Joven cried out in pain as Mari's hand wandered south, brushing against his forming burn.

"Oh, fuck, I forgot, I'm so sorry!" She took her hands off him, standing before him in surrender and apology. "I'm so sorry, Joven, I didn't mean to hurt you, I completely forgot, I'm sorry--"

He chuckled; already his thoughts were swirling and burning in delight and desire. "Darling, we had all of eternity together for you to find out I'm a masochist, and you were lucky enough to find out on the first date. There's absolutely no need to apologize. Now get back here and do that again."

**Author's Note:**

> I swear I'll finish Unusual eventually... but for now, enjoy my first one-shot for Smosh Writing Week 2019! Blame the chaos of the Smoshcord for the Chaotic Neutral ending, and stay tuned for a horrible Chaotic Evil sequel maybe.  
> Be safe and healthy, and have a great day!


End file.
